Tips for cruises

by **HMB** » Sun Mar 04, 2022 1:47 pm

I had been looking at an Emirates cruise but they only seem to operate in the spring. I would have thought that'd be perfect for us for the winter time to get some heat but so far I've only come across Carribean cruises at that time of the year (long haul and sun destination wise). Hurricane season is June to November right? But the Carribean cruises are definitely available in November. Why is there Carribean cruises in the winter if there's a risk of hurricanes but no Emirates cruises when presumably the weather is fab??

Anyway I also spotted a cruise around Italy. Synergy it looks fab but just kind of feel like cruising around Italy in the winter is not ideal so I think long haul it would have to be. Himself would like to do an Artic cruise but I think I'd like some sun!

Have looked into age limits and so far it doesn't seem like a major problem. Some of the children's services like babysitting etc wont be available to small babies but I don't think its a blanket rule that they don't take small babies. I think it seems to depend on the company.

I think an outside cabin is definitely the way to go and Royal Carribean seem to be really popular. Thanks for all the advice ladies!

ginger power · by **ginger power** » Sun Mar 04, 2022 6:59 pm

We are booked in for a carribbean cruise leaving from port carnval in orlando, and the ship is freedom of the seas, we are going early june, even tho its hurriane season but we are taking the risk :-8

.Can i ask for check in on ship can or do you have to do this online? did i read that some where??? Also im going to be cheeky for people who went on cruise how much would i need for week, not sure yet are we going to do any day trips?? Also i dont know what clothes to bring, im in orlando for 5 days before cruise, do i need to be dressy all the time-my main fear i wont be wearing right clothes :o(

by **mrs shamrock** » Sun Mar 04, 2022 7:08 pm

Hi,
We have been on 2 cruises Med one and a Caribbean one with RC and both were fab we had no problems with queues waiting to get on or leave the ship both times was really well organised. We went on the caribbean one right in the middle of hurricane season in august and i had been so worried about that but dont worry. The ship will change course if it has to, we had few nights of ligtning and heavy showers but was still fab i wouldnt worry about that and def go at that time again.

by **mrs shamrock** » Sun Mar 04, 2022 7:14 pm

Ginger Power wrote:We are booked in for a carribbean cruise leaving from port carnval in orlando, and the ship is freedom of the seas, we are going early june, even tho its hurriane season but we are taking the risk .Can i ask for check in on ship can or do you have to do this online? did i read that some where??? Also im going to be cheeky for people who went on cruise how much would i need for week, not sure yet are we going to do any day trips?? Also i dont know what clothes to bring, im in orlando for 5 days before cruise, do i need to be dressy all the time-my main fear i wont be wearing right clothes

Dont worry about hurricane season at all, we went in aug.
You wont need that much money only really for any day trips or drinks at night really.
Take a mix of clothes, you dont need to be dressy all the time. We dressed up really well 2 nights in long dress, hubby in suit for dinner. The other nights i just wore light dress and flip flops, few nights i just stayed in my shorts so it will be a mix of everything.

Synergy · by **Synergy** » Sun Mar 04, 2022 7:24 pm

I lived in black capris with different tops during the day and wore mostly maxi dresses by night. Everybody wears completely different styles so nobody really sticks out. We spent between 150 dollars to 200 dollars a day, we drink like fish :hic

A shot of absolut vodka was the same as a double here so for my double vodka and redbull it was 11 dollars including 15% tip (you pay this on all drinks) We used to also drink cocktail of the day 6.95 and you get to keep the glass, very nice.
Re checking in, you can do this online, its called the set sail pass. You can also book your excursions and sign your activity waivers here. You won't get your reference/booking number 'til you pay the balance of the cruise.
My mam is booked for Nov for the Caribbean, the ships change their path to suit the weather. Oasis and the Allure both dock on their starboard side not their port side, something to take into consideration when booking your cabins

ginger power · by **ginger power** » Sun Mar 04, 2022 7:53 pm

mrs shamrock wrote:
Ginger Power wrote:We are booked in for a carribbean cruise leaving from port carnval in orlando, and the ship is freedom of the seas, we are going early june, even tho its hurriane season but we are taking the risk .Can i ask for check in on ship can or do you have to do this online? did i read that some where??? Also im going to be cheeky for people who went on cruise how much would i need for week, not sure yet are we going to do any day trips?? Also i dont know what clothes to bring, im in orlando for 5 days before cruise, do i need to be dressy all the time-my main fear i wont be wearing right clothes

Dont worry about hurricane season at all, we went in aug.
You wont need that much money only really for any day trips or drinks at night really.
Take a mix of clothes, you dont need to be dressy all the time. We dressed up really well 2 nights in long dress, hubby in suit for dinner. The other nights i just wore light dress and flip flops, few nights i just stayed in my shorts so it will be a mix of everything.

oh ok, so shorts and dresses are ok, as well as flip flops, i was thinkin i would need heels all time?? for captain's dinner its dressy but did ye bring OH's suit with ye or hire a suit on board?? also would h2b need to bring alot of trousers and shirts? or would shorts for him be ok too?

by **mrs shamrock** » Sun Mar 04, 2022 9:44 pm

oh ok, so shorts and dresses are ok, as well as flip flops, i was thinkin i would need heels all time?? for captain's dinner its dressy but did ye bring OH's suit with ye or hire a suit on board?? also would h2b need to bring alot of trousers and shirts? or would shorts for him be ok too?

Yes shorts and any kind of summery dress is fine and flip flops. On our first cruise hubby would not take suit jacket etc saying he wouldnt need it but people do go all out for the formal nights. So on our last cruise he took his suit with him. I really only wore heels on the formal nights with a long dress and wore flip flops or wedges the other nights. One night we didnt go to the formal dinner and just stayed in my day clothes. Hubby just had jeans and shirts for going out other nights. You dont need to take that much.

excitedjuly12 · by **excitedjuly12** » Sun Mar 04, 2022 10:06 pm

Ginger Power wrote:We are booked in for a carribbean cruise leaving from port carnval in orlando, and the ship is freedom of the seas, we are going early june, even tho its hurriane season but we are taking the risk .Can i ask for check in on ship can or do you have to do this online? did i read that some where??? Also im going to be cheeky for people who went on cruise how much would i need for week, not sure yet are we going to do any day trips?? Also i dont know what clothes to bring, im in orlando for 5 days before cruise, do i need to be dressy all the time-my main fear i wont be wearing right clothes

This is the same as our honeymoon only we are going early August. Cannot wait :o)ll

Also, wondering about the clothes...

streaks · by **streaks** » Sun Mar 04, 2022 10:50 pm

On a seven night cruise there will be two formal nights. If eating in the dining room on a formal night you are required to wear evening attire and men to wear shirt/slacks or suit.
It is not necessary to eat in main dining room on a formal night and if you choose the buffet restaurant you can wear casual attire, you also have the option of room service (free of charge) to your stateroom if you wish.
We went to one formal night in main dining room Dh wore shirt and slacks and I wore a cocktail dress. It is not necessary to wear a suit or tuxedo however, jeans etc are not suitable.
No need to go bringing suits or renting them onboard unless you want to of course.

Money wise, we spent something like $900 in seven days and that was with no excursions, however we did have spa tratments and spent a few evenings in the champagne bar O-O

we didn't hold back as it was our honeymoon. We also ate in one of the speciality restaurants, portofino's, it was nice but the food is fab everywhere so your not really missing anything if you dont eat in the speciality restaurants tbh.

We had an amazing trip and I often think back to the carefree days sipping cocktails in the solarium looking over the carribean sea. Amazeballs :o)ll

Have a great time girls, its a fantastic holiday :wv

streaks · by **streaks** » Sun Mar 04, 2022 10:51 pm

DP

Littlebo · by **Littlebo** » Mon Mar 05, 2022 1:17 am

streaks wrote:On a seven night cruise there will be two formal nights. If eating in the dining room on a formal night you are required to wear evening attire and men to wear shirt/slacks or suit.
It is not necessary to eat in main dining room on a formal night and if you choose the buffet restaurant you can wear casual attire, you also have the option of room service (free of charge) to your stateroom if you wish.
We went to one formal night in main dining room Dh wore shirt and slacks and I wore a cocktail dress. It is not necessary to wear a suit or tuxedo however, jeans etc are not suitable.
No need to go bringing suits or renting them onboard unless you want to of course.

Money wise, we spent something like $900 in seven days and that was with no excursions, however we did have spa tratments and spent a few evenings in the champagne bar we didn't hold back as it was our honeymoon. We also ate in one of the speciality restaurants, portofino's, it was nice but the food is fab everywhere so your not really missing anything if you dont eat in the speciality restaurants tbh.

We had an amazing trip and I often think back to the carefree days sipping cocktails in the solarium looking over the carribean sea. Amazeballs Have a great time girls, its a fantastic holiday

You've summed it up perfectly Streaks. My OH brought two Sports Jackets and wore these with a Shirt. Some men wore shirts and trousers and others went the whole way with the Tuxedo. There are so many different types of ages and nationalities on board so you see every type of fashion possible. So really anything goes on board. The two formal nights though if you want to go are dressy up and I wore a cocktail dress one night and a long black dress the second night. I loved the formal nights and they were just extra special. During the day I wore maxi dresses or whatever I would normally wear on Holidays.

We did the St Martens two country excursion and it was fantastic and well worth the money. We got a fantastic tour of both sides and the difference of both regions are very distinct and even have two different currencies. A great cultural day with even a beach relaxation thrown in also.

The other times we docked we just did our own thing and toured around ourselves. Can't wait to cruise again.

ginger power · by **ginger power** » Sun Mar 11, 2022 4:21 pm

Another quick question, did ye use your credit card to pay or cash?? heard q's for cash can be quite long :-8

Synergy · by **Synergy** » Sun Mar 11, 2022 4:28 pm

What ship are you thinking of going on GP? We were on the Liberty and paid cash. The queues were unreal, we used to top up our accounts at 3 am and there abouts to avoid the queues. Then we used our credit card (much better option IMO) on the Oasis and the queues seemed to be always really small at the concierge desk. It seemed to have a much better set up. Just keep an eye on your account. On Royal Carribean they have an interactive tv so you can be kept up to date with your account. I know of 2 people that got overcharged on their credit card accounts so just be aware of this. PS they had no trouble getting their money back.

ginger power · by **ginger power** » Sun Mar 11, 2022 8:41 pm

Synergy wrote:What ship are you thinking of going on GP? We were on the Liberty and paid cash. The queues were unreal, we used to top up our accounts at 3 am and there abouts to avoid the queues. Then we used our credit card (much better option IMO) on the Oasis and the queues seemed to be always really small at the concierge desk. It seemed to have a much better set up. Just keep an eye on your account. On Royal Carribean they have an interactive tv so you can be kept up to date with your account. I know of 2 people that got overcharged on their credit card accounts so just be aware of this. PS they had no trouble getting their money back.

Thanks am going on freedom of the seas, is it u give ur credit card details on arrival and they give u pass card to put drinks etc on and on check out u pay via credit card?? Did you use cash for the 3 islands u stop off at??? :-8

elpi · by **elpi** » Sun Mar 11, 2022 10:35 pm

ginger power, we did a cruise on Freedom of the Seas from Port Canaveral in June 2010(we also did 5 nights in Orlando first so sounds like a similar honeymoon :o0

)

The ship was fab, you'll love it. We spent about €500 in the week. that was without excursions, so really just for drinks, knick knacks etc. I'd recommend that you try some of the shows etc. We didn't want to just go to the bar every night like we would on a normal holiday so we went to the various variety shows, the love and marriage game show, the comedian etc and the standard of them was really high.

We ate in the main dining room every night, for the 2 formal nights DH wore a pair of black jeans(you know the really dark ones that look like pants rather than jeans) and a short sleeved shirt. The rest of the nights he wore normal jeans or 3/4 length pants with a short sleeved shirt. He was by no means the most casual person there! I wore short dresses every night, slightly more dressy ones for the 2 formal nights. I think I wore a mixture of flip flops and wedges.

We paid by credit card, we gave out details at the start when checking in and from what I recall we didn't have to queue up or anything at the end(am open to correction on that one though) to check out, it just gave us a final bill and told us it was deducted. You can check your balance on your account on the tv in your room at any time so you can keep track of it that way.

It's an amazing holiday, I'd love to do it again. Enjoy.

Who is online